Team Lotus buys Caterham

Sports car maker Caterham has been purchased by the management team behind the Team Lotus Formula One squad and has immediately pledged to aggressively ramp up its model development.

The quintessentially British firm has struggled with limited resources in recent years, hampering efforts to continue development of the brand’s iconic open-wheeler, the Caterham Seven.

The purchase by Team Lotus Enterprise is a homecoming of sorts for the Seven, which was conceived in 1957 as the Lotus Seven before its designer and Lotus Cars founder, Colin Chapman, reluctantly sold it in 1973 to Caterham.

The managing director of Caterham Cars, Ansar Ali, says the Seven, the company’s mainstay that is raced on both the track and the road, has survived in recent years largely on reputation and legacy alone.

‘‘However, the acquisition of the company by Team Lotus Enterprise will allow our existing management team to take Caterham’s core spirit of pure driving enjoyment to a hitherto unserved audience,’’ he says.

‘‘While the Seven will now have the global springboard it deserves and will continue to be evolved yet further, we also have the opportunity to expand the Caterham family beyond the Seven and SP/300R [racing car] and breathe new life into our uniquely respected brand and mature it into a truly global business.’’

Team Lotus Enterprise co-principal Tony Fernandes also pledged his support to continuing the company’s vision of building niche open-wheeler sports cars.

‘‘We now have all the ingredients and the launch pad to further evolve that spirit and take Caterham to new exciting horizons with innovative products and greater global brand exposure.’’

Neither Caterham management or Team Lotus Enterprise has given any hint to what new models may be conceived, but customers can celebrate the connection between the two organisations by ordering one of a limited run of 25 Team Lotus Special Edition Sevens.

Customers ordering a Superlight R500 model can pay an extra £3000 ($A4582) to add a special green-and-yellow Lotus livery, plus additions including a plaque signed by Team Lotus F1 drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli and a tour of the Team Lotus factory in Norfolk, England.